Experienced hunting dog trainers speak of “scenting conditions” as the answer to the mystery as to why their best hunting dog can be a “brag dog,” one day and on the next, disappoint.

And of course on the off day, when the dog embarrasses us and looks like a possum by the side of the road; we just had to say, “I really want to show you my dog…You just have to see him work!”

But more to the point; if hunting dog handlers are tuned into the phenomenon of “scenting conditions,” and bad scenting conditions are the reason why “Old Mack” didn’t perform up to par; why don’t deer hunters use the concept too?

Of course it would be rare to hear, so don’t hold your breath waiting, “That buck came in so close, downwind that I could have hit him with my glove. Must have been bad scenting conditions today.”

The term “scenting conditions” is not locked and loaded into the deer hunter’s lexicon.

Should it be?

In the world of canine hunters, and it doesn’t matter what kind of dog, or style of hunting; from bird dogs that scent a bird from a distance and point; rabbit dogs like beagles that trail a rabbit or hare; to hounds that run ‘coons, bears, lions, and fox, naming just a few types of hunting dogs scenting conditions are critical.

Why does a bird dog evidence a “choke-bore nose,” on one hunt, pointing grouse-after-timberdoodle at 30 yards. And the next day, the same dog steps on a pheasant without smelling it?

Answer: Scenting conditions.

Why does a beagle run Mr. Cottontail on a line for hours and the next day act hopeless and confused.

Answer: Scenting conditions.

So the question is for deer hunters: “Do whitetails scent us better on some days than others?”

And that answer is in the affirmative, it begs the follow-ups:

What days, what conditions are best to hunt in?

The deer would be less likely to detect us on poor “scenting condition” days.

According to hunting and tracking dog trainers there are a few hard and fast rules that they all seem to pretty much agree upon.

So logically, on a “good scenting condition day,” those would not be the best days to deer hunt, from a “scenting conditions” standpoint.

Generally, hunting dog owners say “scenting conditions” are best when the ground is wet, the air is colder than the ground, when smoke from chimneys hangs low and is not rising straight up and in wet snow.

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Now theoretically, those would be the worst times to deer hunt, because whitetails pick up our scent easiest on those days.

Then when is the best time to deer hunt, by following this line of reasoning?

Bad scenting conditions, according to expert handlers, occur when there has been little rain and the forest floor is dry as cornflakes, when there is low humidity, when the air is warmer than the ground (such as when frost is melting off the clover in the morning,) and dry, powdery snow.

A whitetail’s ability to detect our scent is so amazing that it is a wonder we fool them at all.

And maybe we don’t trick Mr. Whitetail as much as we think we do. Maybe Mother Nature poses scenting conditions that even the super-sensitive olfactory gear nature “tricked out” on whitetails, malfunctions under certain atmospheric and environmental circumstances.

In other words, deer have a difficult time sorting out odors on certain days, like dogs do when the scenting conditions are bad.

The survivability of detectable human scent has been researched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In a recent study, (October, 2004,) the FBI finished a report that analyzed data in an attempt to trace bomb makers by their scent left on the exploded bomb parts.

The FBI study concluded “human scent is durable and will remain identifiable after being exposed to extreme mechanical and thermal effects…”

In a typical scenario, the FBI bomb team locates a piece of the exploded bomb and uses a specially designed vacuum cleaner with sterile filter pads (Scent Transfer Unit.)

The pads retain enough quantity and quality of human scent molecules from the exploded bomb fragments that are detectable by FBI bloodhounds to positively ID the maker.

A 12-volt vacuum fan sucks 400 liters of air per minute across the “frag,” depositing the residue on the pad. Then the dog is “shown” the pad.

Amazingly, the dogs have a high degree of verifiability in fingering (in this case “clawing”) the perpetrators.

As fascinating as this forensic canine detection method appears, we can now see how a dog acquires enough scent to point a bird, run a rabbit, or find a downed duck in cattails requiring only an unbelievably miniscule amount of detectable molecules hanging in the air, or on a blade of grass.

Mr. whitetail seemed to have a “sixth sense” and knows Joe Hunter was there.

Well, if our line of inquiry follows and the “scenting conditions” are right, it doesn’t seem to take much for the deer’s incredible detection device, we humbly call a nose, to sort us out from all the ambient odors of the woods and fields.

And when we pat ourselves on the back for doing such a good job fooling Mr. Deer’s senses, maybe we shouldn’t be quite so quick and smug.

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After all, if in that instance when the “scenting conditions” were poor and we happened to fool the whitetail, maybe a dog couldn’t have smelled, then pointed a bird either.